ID Centric Nature of the Type 8

What are the ID, EGO and SUPER-EGO, how do they manifest in type 8?

This concept requires nuance and attempts to explain the structure of personality, it's called THE STRUCTURAL THEORY OF PERSONALITY. It consists of only three components, the ID, EGO and SUPER-EGO, these three concepts act as a triangle that regulates and executes human behavior and functioning, it is both cognitive and behavioral, these three components represent different stages of the psyche. So what is the ID, EGO and SUPER-EGO?

What is the ID?

The ID is the primitive and instinctive part of the psyche, it is responsible for generating visceral emotionality such as lust, rage, fear and attraction/repulsion. Think of it as the most animalistic component in the psyche. These visceral emotions give way to impulsive tendencies, such as immediate gratification and impulsivity. If not regulated, this part of the psyche can cause severe dysfunction in the individual since it will cause them to operate outside the bounds of civil society, thus breaks and inhibitions are crucial for functioning, this brings us to the EGO.

What is the EGO?

The EGO can be thought of as both the breaks that regulate the ID and the higher executive functioning element that allows for functioning and balance in interacting with the world, it can be thought of as the “brains” of the individual. It not only is responsible for tempering instincts but also for something called reality testing, which tests and adjusts one’s behavior to reality, it is the sober and practical part of the individual, it is responsible for a specific line of emotionality, anxiety, love, determination and tranquility as opposed to the crude and primitive line of emotionality represented in the ID. Essentially, the EGO acts as the breaks and sober element in the psyche.

What is the SUPER-EGO?

The SUPER-EGO on the other hand is the highest point of consciousness in the psyche, it is the EGO IDEAL and the transcending factor in the psyche, its responsible for the following: societal moral principles, internalized standards, spirituality, selflessness and self criticism. In a literal sense, it is on an opposing axis with the ID and is considered the most human part of the psyche, animals mostly do not operate within the SUPER-EGO. The SUPER-EGO is what humanity aspires to be. An important note, the SUPER-EGO is learned and adopted from external factors such as societal ideals, role models and religion, external institutions and concepts.

It is important to note that all individuals possess all three elements in the psyche, one cannot live without the counterbalancing effects of the three elements.

In the enneagram theory, one can correlate the ID with the gut triad due to its somatic and gut centric nature, the EGO with the head triad due to its cerebral qualities and the SUPER-EGO with the heart triad due to its transcending nature. While the SP instinct is represented in the ID due to its visceral nature, the SX instinct is represented by the EGO by its more developed nature and the SO instinct is represented by the SUPER-EGO due to its societal world view.

Type 8 in the structured personality model

Type 8 exhibits a particular preference in the structure, it is the personality that is most tilted in favor of the ID, not only does it prefer the ID’s model, but it also purposefully suppressing both the EGO and the SUPER-EGO from its worldview, this explains the core personality structure of the type 8 effectively.

The very core fixation of the type “lust” is a direct correlation with the ID, the type 8 operates in the ID and negates the other components in such an unbalanced fashion that it makes for the most psychologically one sided manifestation of the disposition, one can understand the “anti-intellectual” nature of the type effectively using this model, since institutional intellectualism and societal standards are directly correlated with the

SUPER-EGO, which in the 8, is the most repressed dimension of the three. The image focus and societal etiquette of the EGO is nonetheless repressed in favor of the ID as well, leaving the individual more socially dysfunctional than other types. The delay of gratification and long term planning of the EGO is void in the type 8, especially in stress, making the type impulsive and marked by an elevation in disconstraint. There are certain benefits of the ID preference however, they include the following, quick decision making, quick response and reaction, tangible desires and volition and a high energy reserve.

How is the ID correlated with the type 8 and how are the other components negated?

The type 8’s formative experiences forced the 8 to try to rely on one of the three components, when the 8 sourced the SUPER-EGO by appealing to morality and values, it was ineffective in counteracting the early harm and instability, likewise, when the 8 sourced the EGO by using diplomacy and reason, the 8 failed as well, however, when the 8 relied on the ID by countering violence with impulsive violence, they understood that letting go and falling into their most innate impulses liberated them from danger, this alone fully explains the type’s significant tilt in favor of the ID.

Anything that hinders, regulates and inhibits the ID such as the EGO and SUPER-EGO are consistently repressed and denied, the individual develops a propensity to succumb to impulse and by constant repetition, this disposition becomes set in stone after the formative years, thus this explains holistically the type’s action over intellect and feeling, and the types anti-intellectual qualities. This is perhaps one of the biggest contributors to the antisocial nature of the type, since impulsivity, immediate gratification and visceral emotionality is directly linked to the ID while guilt, patience and the delay of gratification is directly linked with the EGO and SUPER-EGO.

How does this manifest in the 8 subtypes?

SELF-PRESERVATION 8:

The SP8 exhibits the most prominent propensity for immediate gratification, if anything, they are considered to be the most satisfaction and gratification seeking subtype of the type 8, this attempt to counteract inner deadness is an instinctive and visceral attitude represented in the ID, while the overt disconnect from societal matters and issues is also correlated with the same element, the SP8 exhibits a significant propensity for physicality and psychical violence due to their self preserving nature, since self preservation requires the immediate protection and survival of an individual, this instinctive psyche is another correlation with the primitive ID.

SEXUAL 8:

The SX8 exhibits something called “anti-intellectualism”, what this is is basically the disconnect from institutional values and morality, the SX8 proclaims that their values are different from the norm and take pride in their controversial position, the SX8 also represents “lust” perfectly since they are fixated on the other in a dysregulated fashion, their impulsive and rebellious nature is another signifier of the ID’s influence on the type.

SOCIAL 8:

The SO8 on the other hand occupies a unique and self contradicting preference, they have an accentuation of both the ID and the SUPER-EGO, their instinctive and visceral actions (ID) are masked and disguised as prosocial and moral actions (SUPER-EGO), this explains why the subtype is the most socially functioning and civilized manifestation of the type. This however is a mask, meaning that the SUPER-EGO is nonetheless subjugated in favor of the ID and the SUPER-EGO is only used as a tool to facilitate lust and vengeance in essence.

Conclusion

The STRUCTURAL THEORY OF PERSONALITY offers an evidence based perspective on the type 8, more nuances and correlations do exist however this acts as a straightforward explanation of how this theory applies to the type 8.